Stretcher.



No. 688,I85. Patented Dec. 3, I90I. A. LURIA.

STRETCHER.

(Application med Jan. 15, 1901.)

(No Model.)

W/TNESSES n1: Norms Passw co. wurwumo., wAsHmaToN. n. c.

TTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLFO LURIA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STRETCHER.

SPECEEIGAEION forming part of Letters Patent No. 688,185, dated December 3, 1901. Application filed January 15, 1901. Serial No.'43,317. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLFO LURIA, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

My improved stretcher has a telescopic frame and hinged handles, which are adapted to fold and to be supported in extended or folded position, as hereinafter described.

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section ot' the complete apparatus, the mattress being shown inflated. Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssection of the apparatus, the mattress being shown deflated andA lowered into the tank. Fig. .3 is a plan View of the litter or stretcher proper, the inflatable mattress and its supports being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view representing a handle of the litter in extended position.

1 illustrate and describe my stretcher in connection with an inflatable mattress and a Water-tank, with which it is particularly adapted for use.

A indicates an inflatable mattress; B, the frame of the litter or stretcher; C, a Watertank, and D a vertically-adjustable surgical table. The latter, D, is supported upon a screw-shaft that enters a pedestal E and passes through a threaded hole in a bevelgear F, arranged horizontally on the top of said pedestal. Another bevel-gear G meshes with said gear F and is fixed on a shaft H, having a hand-wheel I for rotating it. lt is apparent that by these means the table proper, D, may be raised or lowered, as convenience requires.

The oblong metal tank C rests upon the table D. A series of transverse slats J rest on the side edges of the tank and support the inflatable bed A, which is provided with suitable attachments for admission or escape of air, so that the bed may be inflated or deflated, as conditions require.

The litter or stretcher proper, B, is rectangular and oblong in form and preferably constructed of metal tubes. Aluminium may be utilized for this purpose, in View of its lightness and absence of corrosive quality. The ends of the frame B are adapted to telescope, as shown in Fig. 3, so that its width may be increased or diminished Within certain limits for convenience in storage or transport-ation and also iu use under varying conditions. A handle K is hinged at each corner and adapted tov be extended, as shown in Fig. L1, when required for use, or folded, as shown in Figs. l and 3, when not in use. The handles K have toes 7c, which when the former are extended rest upon pins or lugs L, projecting on the inner sides ofthe frame B. When the handles K are reversed or in folded position, they are supported horizontally upon catches M,which are pivoted to the frame B, so as to turn to allow the handles to pass when being swung to fold.

The apparatus is designed for use not only in the field, but in hospitals and private houses. To illustrate its use in the field, it may be stated that the litter-frame B, together with the inflatable bed resting thereon, is carried by the bearers to the fire-line, Where a wounded soldier may be picked up and placed on the bed and carried back to the field-hospital, which may be supposed to be provided with a similar apparatus. The litter bearing the wounded soldier is placed upon a tank, and afterhe has been examined and the Wound irrigated the bed is deflated and the slats removed, so that the patient is lowered into the tank to be bathed. The bed is then inflated as before and the patient thereby raised out of the water, The litter-frame B may be allowed to drop in this case into the tank before the bed is deflated. The patient may be then removed upon the bed or litter and the tank displaced to allow the patient to be laid directly upon the surgical table, the slats being in that case removed and the bed again deflated, so that the patient will rest thereon instead of directly upon the table. When the operation is finished, the bed is again inflated, and the litter being brought into service as before, the patient is carried to a cot. It will be understood that the telescopic arrangement of the end portion of the frame B enables the frame to be contracted or expanded as convenience or necessity may require in the above-described operations.

In use in the hospital or private houses in the case of fever or other diseases the inflat- ICO able bed is an advantageous substitute for those commonly employed, as will be readily perceived by those skilled in the surgical or medical art.

, What I Claim isl. The improved litter or stretcher coinposed of an oblong rectangular1 frame, handles pivoted on the ends thereof, and having extensions or toes as specified, and adapted to swing vertically, and fold parallel with the side bars of the frame, lateral stops on said bars which said toes engage when the handles are extended from the ends of the frame, and catches adapted to project laterally from the frame, to support the handleswhen folded',

' as shown' and described. 

